Trap



A. C. KAHN March 9, 1937.

TRAP

Original FiledMarch 28, 1923 17:25.27 U1" flzberfi C7. l akn v Patented Mar. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES TRAP Albert C. Kahn, Tomahawk, Wis. I

Refiled for abandoned application Serial No.

265,355, March 28, 1928.

This application April 20, 1936, Serial No. 75,500

4 Claims.

application is filed in place of abandoned application No. 265,355, filed March 28, 1928.

This invention relates to improvements in traps and the like, and more particularly to the -5 traps of the character adapted for the capturing'of animals alive and uninjured, although the invention will have other and various uses as will be apparent to one skilled in the art.

Recent developments in the fur industry have '10 created a comparatively great demand for the capturecf fur-bearing animals, not for the purpose of removing the pelts therefrom, but for the purpose of keeping the animals alive and breeding the same. The animals are usually kept in a pen until they have sufi'iciently in creased in number to permit the killing of a quantity of them for the sale of the resulting pelts. Obviously, therefore, breeders of furbearing animals desire only living undamaged specimens, preferably fence-broke.

' In thepast, traps and devices for the capturing of live fur-bearing animals have proved 0bjectionable in most instances, in that the animal was injured thereby when caught or permitted to injure itself in an attempt to escape. More- 0ver, these formerly known traps, in most instances, permitted the entrance of a plurality of animals thereinto, in which event the animals a would immediatelyfight with each other when caught, with resulting'injury to one or all of them. Further, these traps, in many instances, were not as easily set or sprung as desired, necessitated the use of a lure, and were oftentimes rendered inoperable byfrost, ice andthe action of the elements.

The present invention has been designed to overcome the above noted defects and objections in the provision of a single .animal trap which is exceedingly easily sprung, and which eiiective- '40 ly prevents the entrance or retainment therein of more than one animal at a time.

' The invention also seeks to provide a trap having a plurality of entrances thereinto from various directions, which entrances are adapted to be simultaneously closed and held against the reopening thereof by an animal either within or without the trap.

' A further object of the present invention is .to provide a trap which when sprung may be :again set by simply turning the same through one complete revolution.

2 It is well-known that animals, especially those living near water, provide themselves with comparatively small runways to the water; and it is equally Well-known that there are certain (CI. 4361) i types of animals who will not pass around a hollow log, but will invariably pass through the same. Accordingly, therefore, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a trap which; 2' when set, has a straight passage completely therethrough and so may be placed in an animal runway, or camouflaged and positioned beside'a log, and which does not necessitate the use of a lure. v While some of the more salient features, char-, acteristics and advantages'of a device embodying the present invention have been above point: ed out, others will become apparent from the disclosures hereinafter. The invention includes these and other fea-, tures of construction and combinations of parts I hereinafter described, and shown in a preferred form in the drawing, as more particularly indicated by the claims. m. 7

0n the drawing: 'i 20 Figure 1 is an isometric .view of a device em-' bodying features of the present invention. c Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line II--II of Fig. n. 1111? 1. a Figure 3 isa transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line IIIIII of Figure 2. 1

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, show* i ing the device after the same has been sprung. Figure 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the device as shown in Figure 4, with the cover re*' moved.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Figure 2, showing a' modified use of the device. i As shown on the drawing: a i In the illustrated embodiment of the presen invention, there is showna tubular casing I having an entrance in each end thereof and a continuous passage 2 therethrough. A cover 3 forms a part of the casing l but is removable from the remainder thereof, the sides of the casing being beaded, as indicated at 4 (Figure 3), 64 so as to receive downwardly turned rims on each side of the cover therein. The side walls also project abovethe cover, as indicated at 5, which projecting portions may be bent over, if'so desired, to firmly secure the cover. Adjacent each end of the casing I, an in-F wardly extending flap or drop closure 6 is piviotally mounted near its outer edge on a trans: verse bolt 1 extending through the casing, these parts being readily removable from the casing. (55

diverging supporting rods 8 which are slidable 5 to thereby support the same.

in sleeves 9 fixed to a wall of the casing. The supporting rods 8, in this instance, are shown as made of wire having loops in the free ends thereof which abut the near ends of the flaps 6 The rods preferably have a relatively small amount of inherent resiliency for a purpose that will later appear.

The supporting rods are both pivotally connected adjacent their lower extremities to a trigger which, in this instance, is in the form of a tread plate III, which plate is pivoted adjacent its opposite edge to a bracket II secured in any desired manner to the floor of the casing. The tread plate extends substantially entirely across the casing, preferably adjacent the center of the same, so that it will be relatively impossible for an animal or the like to pass through the casing without actuating the trigger.

Disposed above each of the flaps 6 is a stop member I2 pivoted adjacent one end thereof to astud bolt I3 or the like in a wall of the casing I, and actuated by gravity. When the flaps 6 drop, the stop members, due to being pivoted at their ofi-center portions, will also drop so that an inwardly turned portion I 4 thereon will assume a position adjacent the flaps, as shown more clearly in Figure 4. On the other side of the fulcrum or pivot point, the stop members are each provided with a relatively short integral projecting portion I5 which will abut the top of the casing, so that the stop members as a whole effectively prevent the re-elevation of the flaps 6.

The operation of the present invention is extremely simple. Assuming the trap to be in sprung position as shown in Figure 4, and that it is desired to set the same, the casing I is merely inverted. The flaps 6 will thereupon assume positions adjacent the top of the casing or cover 3, due to the action of gravity. The members I2, due to the greater part of their weight being disposed to the right of their pivotal point, will also be gravity-actuated for preceding the movement of the flaps 6 to a position adjacent the top of the casing or cover, as best seen in Figures 2 and 6. The supporting rods 8 and tread plate In will also have a limited movement towards the top of the casing. Due to their weight and the resiliency of the supporting rods 8, the flaps 6 will pass by the tips of the supporting rods.

When the casing is again placed in its original position, the inner ends of the flaps 6 will rest upon the tips of the supporting rods 8 and counterbalance the same so that the tread plate I0 will be elevated from the floor of the casing I, as seen clearly in Figure 2. The stop members I2 will, of course, merely rest upon the flaps 6, being much lighter than the flaps. When pressure is applied on the tread plate I0, due to the movement of an animal or by other means, the upper ends of the supporting rods 8 will be moved sufliciently to drop the flaps 6, the stop members I2 pivotally dropping therewith.

It is readily apparent, therefore, that an animal actuating the tread plate Ill would be immediately imprisoned within the casing I, it not being possible for the animal to escape through the inclined flaps 6. The stop members I2 assuming their positions adjacent the inside edge portions of the flaps prevent the elevation of the flaps 6 by another animal or other means on the exterior of the casing, whereby only one animal may be imprisoned at a time. If animals follow each other in close single file, when one animal springs the trap, one of the flaps 6 will drop in such a manner as to bump the next adjacent animal on the head, thereby causing the latter animal to immediately back out of the casing. The imprisoned animal obtains a sufiicient quantity of air through the spaces between the cover 3 and the pivot points of the flaps 6.

It should also be noted with regard to the present invention that the trap may be entered from either end thereof. Moreover, all of the working parts are sheltered and are preferably made of rust-proof material, whereby frost, ice and action of the elements will not affect the operation of the device, which may even be set in water. It should be noted that the side walls of the casing I are provided with aligned apertures I6 therein, similar to the apertures through which the bolts I pass but on the inner side thereof, for a purpose that will later appear.

In Figure 6, I have shown a modification in the use of the present invention. In this instance, the trap is shown positioned with one end thereof projecting through a fence or pen H in which animals may be retained for breeding or other purposes. To utilize the trap in this-manner, the bolts I and the flaps 6 are removed from the inner end of the trap. A screen I8 is then pivoted to the bolt 1 which now passes through the apertures I6. The screen I8 is thereby inclined with its free end disposed towards the end of the casing, whereby it will be impossible for an animal to enter the trap from the inner end thereof, but an entrapped animal may readiily pass out through the inner end of the trap into the pen by simply pushing against the screen I8 sufliciently to raise the same.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that I have provided a device for the capturing of live animals which will entrap only one animal at a time, keep the animal uninjured, and which is quick and positive in its action due to the counterbalanced mechanism therein. Moreover, the trap described herein affords a plurality of entrances thereto and is quickly and easily set by simply turning the same through one complete revolution. Further, the present invention is simple in construction and may be economically manufactured.

I am aware that many changes may be made and numerous details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore, do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than is necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the character described, a casing having a plurality of entrances thereto, means for blocking said entrances, means for retaining said first mentioned means in open position until actuated by pressure to release the same, and means operable with said first mentioned means for maintaining the same in closed position, all of said means being operable by gravity to assume their original position, whereby said device may be set by turning it over and then righting it.

2. In a trap, a casing having a plurality of entrances, a treadle in said casing, a plurality of upwardly diverging resilient arms on said treadle, and blocking means for said entrances resting upon said arms in open position when said trap is set, said means counterbalancing said treadle to keep the same elevated, the resiliency of said arms permitting said means to pass thereby when said trap is inverted afterbeing sprung so that said trap will be set when again righted.

3. In a device of the character described, a casing having a plurality of entrances, members movably secured to said casing for blocking said entrances, a treadle in said casing, a plurality of rods having their lower ends connected to said treadle, said rods being outwardly slidable when said casing is inverted to engage said members for maintaining said members in an elevated position when said casing is righted.

4. In a device of the character described, a casing having a plurality of entrances, members secured to said casing for blocking said entrances, pivotal elements in said casing having one of their ends contacting with the top portion thereof and the other end of said elements positioned adjacent said members for preventing elevation of the same, said elements being pivotal out of the path of movement of said members when the casing is inverted, means for holding said members in an elevated position, and means for moving said last means so as to enable downward movement of said members.

ALBERT C. KAHN. 

